Editorial: End ‘off-cycle’ school votes

Our opinion: A state Senate bill to limit special school bond votes to a couple of normal voting days is a step in the right direction; lawmakers should extend this voter-friendly approach to primaries, too.

When scheduling a bond issue or some other important vote that could define the future of a local school district, officials tend to like a big turnout by the parents of young children, who have a direct stake in the outcome. As for less certain supporters — such as senior citizens on fixed incomes, who may feel overburdened by property taxes — the fewer the better.

Strategically scheduling votes is one way school districts try to ensure the vote goes their way. The poster child for this was last year’s North Colonie School District vote on its proposed $196 million building program. Only one polling place was provided in a district that stretches from the Mohawk River to the Albany city line, and the vote was held Dec. 15 in the height of the holiday shopping period. If the tactic was meant to produce a favorable turnout, it backfired. Voters soundly rejected the bond issue.

North Colonie wasn’t unique: At least seven other districts in the Capital Region held some kind of vote this past winter, a period when turnout is traditionally low.

The Albany City School District, on the other hand, did it right the first time when it put a $196 million high school renovation plan on the regular November ballot in 2015. The controversial proposal was defeated by just 92 votes. After trimming by about $16 million, the district held a special election the following March, when it passed by 189 votes. About 12,000 people cast ballots in the November election. Fewer than 8,000 participated in the March vote.

That one-third drop off in voters demonstrates how effective this can be in suppressing turnout. These “off-cycle,” single-issue votes also cost taxpayers extra money to hold.

How wasteful. How undemocratic.

A bill before the state Senate would change this. Sponsored by Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mt. Hope, the measure requires school districts to hold votes on normal voting days — the first Tuesday in November, when general elections are held, or the third Tuesday in May, when school board elections and budget votes already occur.

The bill allows some exceptions, such as dealing with emergencies and disasters.

It’s worth noting that making it easier for people to vote doesn’t necessarily doom such spending measures. North Colonie re-presented a pared-down proposal at the regular May school vote. It passed with 72 percent support.

If only the Senate and Assembly would apply this voter-friendly logic to all the other elections in New York, notably the state’s different presidential, congressional and state and local primary dates. Voters may rightly wonder: Why so many?

And while they’re at it, why not look at other strategies that have increased turnout in some other states, such as early voting and voting by mail? Making voting more accessible clarifies whose democracy this is: It’s not the politicians’; it’s the people’s.